Yuletide Considerations
by ponderinfrustration
Summary: London 2025 is really the best Christmas that Irene and Janine have


Christmas is not something they ever make a fuss over – as far as Irene is concerned it is simply a normal day with the addition of gifts added. Janine finds she cannot argue with this interpretation of the day – for a long time she has shared the same sentiments, ever since she grew old for Santa Claus, that is, and most of the magic drained out of Christmas. Several times she's had boyfriends for the season, but they were never anything special, and so with Irene neither of them pay much heed to the date.

Things are for the best that way, perhaps. With all of the moving around that they do, they're rarely in a place long enough to have built-up the long-standing acquaintances and friendships associated with Christmas. What this basically means is that while one year it may be spent in Johannesburg, the next they find themselves in Vancouver and the year after in Mexico City. Another year they return to Ireland in order to visit some of Janine's relatives, and another time in Australia to call on Irene's brother living down there. Essentially, Christmas has become a time for new experiences for the both of them, which is why, when they've been together ten years, Janine is surprised that Irene suggests that they return to London.

"Sherlock will ensure that everything goes all right," she says. "I got him out of a sticky situation in Cairo."

And so, London is settled on as they holiday destination, which pleases Janine and leaves Irene nostalgic. The year that she faked her death was an atypical example of London Christmases for her, after all. Usually they amounted to elite parties and visitations from some of her more special customers. But that life is long behind her now, and Christmas in the guise of an ordinary person is sure to be entertaining.

* * *

><p>As it turns out, Christmas 2025 – also known as "the year Irene decided to play normal" – is one of their better Christmases. It begins simply enough with the traditional "first sex in a new hotel" (as Janine refers to it) and ends with their helping Sherlock and John deal with what would become known as the Blue Carbuncle case. How they became involved in the case is a question which neither of them is able to answer, however, both find that it doesn't matter.<p>

Irene, for her part, feels more than a little self-satisfied to see that John's awful wife is out of the way and that he and Sherlock have finally come to their senses. They knew already, of course, about the romantic turn that their friendship had taken, but it is one thing to know about it and quite another to see it. Both Irene and Janine remain terribly amused at John's obvious jealousy towards them back in the day, and it's twice as amusing to reflect back on that now when their observations have been proven correct. (Sherlock is more than a little proud, really, of how astute both of them proved to be, though it took him a while to realise that that was what their numerous hints had been referring to.)

The case itself is a mediocre one in the annals of Holmesian case-solving, but nobody really minds that. Instead, the highlight of the London Christmas is the 221B Christmas party, where Mrs Hudson – now well-aged – calmly assures Janine that she always knew those boys of hers would come to their senses, and Greg half-interrogates Irene about that Christmas when everyone thought she was dead. (What he doesn't realise, of course, is that all of her answers are carefully thought out lies, but he seems happy enough anyway. Though, as Irene concludes afterwards, that may have been due to the amount of alcohol in his punch.)

Mycroft doesn't question their presence in the city or at the party, leading Irene to suspect that Sherlock must have explained the Cairo affair to him. The two reach a grudging truce, and for the first time in a very long time, Irene begins to think that maybe they could soon settle down to a life without wandering. (And when she suggests it to Janine over Christmas dinner in their hotel, the enthusiasm with which the idea is met rather seals the deal. Sherlock, of course, has already deduced this possibility and has worked Mycroft around to the idea of pardoning Irene for her multitude of crimes.)

And so, it is thanks to Irene's brainwave of having London as their Christmas 2025 destination that Easter 2026 is spent with establishing themselves in Janine's Sussex house. Though the place in Sussex had felt far too big to Janine before, now it seems just right. Both of them are really terribly happy over that small fact.

(And should they find themselves getting bored, well, it's not all _that _far to pay a visit on the Baker Street boys.)


End file.
